Church
A church (from the Greek word ekklēsía, meaning "assembly") can refer to a religious congregation of Christians within a local area, or the structure in which the congregation holds their services. The term is also used in the form of "the Church" to refer to the universal congregation of Christians worldwide regardless of denomination. In Christian belief, the Church was established upon the confession of Peter the apostle's faith in Jesus Christ as stated in Matthew 16:16 ("You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"), although Catholicism holds to the belief that it was established upon Peter himself being its first pope, to whom Jesus had given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. As far as its reference to a structure, its most common feature is a chapel where the congregation sits in pews and the priest or pastor leads the congregation in worship from a pulpit. The structure may also include a bell tower or a steeple, as well as private quarters for the priest or pastor in charge of the structure. Besides houses or stone structures, church services may also be held in tents by traveling missionaries. Empath: The Luckiest Smurf stories In the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series, Tapper has visited a few churches during his visits to the human villages surrounding the Smurf Forest. Some castles such as those in the kingdoms of both King Audric and King Gerard have chapels where special services like weddings are held. In Chlorhydris' flashback to an earlier time in her life, she waited to marry the sorcerer of her dreams Manfred the Magnificent at a church, but he never showed up because her witch rival Drusilla had turned him into a stone statue. A few churches, the Smurf Village Chapel and the Smurfette Island Chapel, have been built for the sole purpose of the gospel being spread to all generations of Smurfs. Hero: The Guardian Smurf stories In the HERO: The Guardian Smurf story series, Abloec visited a church that was pastored by Reverend Lovejoy during the time when Hero was exiled from the Smurf Village. Glovey Story In the Smurf Me Up story series, Aksel Smurf requests to have a church built by Handy Smurf in the Smurfs' village to spread his knowledge of God and to share the teachings of Christ with his fellow Smurfs. It is also considered his home since he has his own quarters in the temple. Sometime after Aksel had left to study to become a priest, Glovey Smurf convinces the Smurfs to build a much larger church, having believed it would be more fitting to fit an entire village of over 100 Smurfs. LD Stories Within The Light and Dark Series, there is a church located within the grounds of the Good King's castle where he and his subjects typically rally for Sunday services. Since her arrival to the castle, Falla is the only person who does not attend Sunday mass, as she is not of Catholic faith. While most frown upon this, her close friends have learned to respect her as she respects them for different beliefs. While he is turned Evil under Gargamel's care, Johan is kept out of church, except on certain occasions (such as Christmas) because Gargamel does not consider himself religious. However, during the more lonesome nights, he prays - sometimes in silence, and sometimes aloud. Category:Locations Category:Religious structures Category:Organizations Category:Open to Community Category:Buildings and structures